역대상 1:1의 미드라쉬

(Deut. 14:22:) YOU SHALL SURELY TITHE <ALL>. Moses said: Sovereign of the World, does it follow from here that one takes out a tithe? The Holy One said to him (in Job 8:8, 10): SO PLEASE ASK A FORMER GENERATION, AND CONFIRM THE RESEARCH OF THEIR ANCESTORS…. WILL THEY NOT INSTRUCT YOU AND TELL YOU….? How so? (I Chron. 1:1:) ADAM, SETH, ENOSH. From Adam up to Noah there are ten generations,¹I.e., Adam, 2. Seth, 3. Enosh, 4. Kenan, 5. Mahalalel, 6. Jared, 7. Enoch, 8. Methuselah, 9. Lamech, and 10. Noah. See Tanh., Gen. 9:1; TDER (16), p. 80 (Friedmann). and I took the tenth.²Probably Noah (Gen. 6:9), but possibly Enoch (Gen. 5:21). See PRK 23:10. From Noah to Abraham there are ten generations,³I.e., 1. Noah, 2. Arpachshad, 3. Shelah, 4. Eber, 5. Peleg, 6. Reu, 7. Serug, 8. Nahor, 9. Terah, 10. Abraham. and I took the tenth, which was Abraham. So it is therefore written (in Job 8:10): WILL THEY NOT INSTRUCT YOU AND TELL YOU to take out one tenth? (Deut. 15:20:) YEAR BY YEAR. If you have taken out a tithe during a given year, you gain merit for another year. R. Abba bar Kahana said: The importance of tithes is <mentioned> throughout all the Torah (in the Law, in the Prophets, and in the Writings). It is written (in Deut. 6:16): DO NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST <AS YOU PUT HIM TO THE TEST THROUGH A TAX (MSH)>.⁴So the midrash understands this verse. Since Deut. 6:16 refers to an incident at Massah (MSH) in Exod. 17:1–7, biblical translations render the bracketed clause to mean, AS YOU PUT HIM TO THE TEST AT MASSAH. Exod. 17:1–7 also explains in vs. 7 that MASSAH means “test.” The midrash, however, either revowels MSH as MISSAH, a word which means “tribute,” “contribution,” or “quota,” in this case the tithe, or perhaps understands the name as a form of mas, which had come to mean “tax.” Also in reference to tithes it is written (in Mal. 3:10): [BRING ALL THE TITHE <INTO THE STOREHOUSE, THAT THERE MAY BE FOOD IN MY HOUSE>]. SO PLEASE TEST ME IN THIS, <SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS>. And who tested the tithes? The generation of Hezekiah, as stated (in II Chron. 31:9–10): THEN HEZEKIAH {THE KING} QUESTIONED <THE PRIESTS AND THE LEVITES> ABOUT THE HEAPS (of produce). SO THE CHIEF PRIEST AZARIAH OF THE HOUSE OF ZADOK SPOKE [UNTO HIM] <AND SAID: EVER SINCE PEOPLE BEGAN TO BRING THE TERUMAH (i.e., the priestly tithe on produce) TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD,> WE HAVE EATEN {AND HAVE DRUNK} [AND HAVE BEEN SATISFIED], WHILE LEAVING OVER <FOOD IN GREAT AMOUNTS>. Why? (Ibid., cont.:) BECAUSE THE LORD HAS BLESSED HIS PEOPLE. The Holy One said: In this world I have blessed one generation, but hereafter in the world to come, I am blessing <all the generations of> Israel, as stated (in Jer. 31:22 [23]): AGAIN THEY SHALL SAY THIS THING {ON THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD, IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL THE CITIES OF JUDAH} [IN THE LAND OF JUDAH AND ITS CITIES, WHEN I RESTORE THEM AS BEFORE]: MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU, O HABITATION OF {RIGHTEOUS HOLINESS} [RIGHTEOUSNESS], O HOLY MOUNTAIN.

Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, devoted Himself superficially to the earlier generations, and then ignored them. He mentioned Adam, Seth, Enoch, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, etc. (I Chron. 1:1–2), and also the second ten generations, Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, etc. (ibid. 1:24), so that a child could take the Bible and read about the ten generations from Adam to Noah at a single sitting, and also about the ten generations from Noah to Abraham at one time. But when he reached the section dealing with the pearls, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he would have to apply himself diligently in reading about them. That is why the section on Elephaz the son of Esau is included in this chapter.